Our Tune With Simon Bates

My Dear Princess and Dear Fellows,

Do you remember "Our Tune"? I remember being unemployed in 1988 and listening to it every afternoon on Radio 1. 

It was always mawkishly twee and cringy. Typically, Simon Bates would spend five minutes talking VERY EARNESTLY about Sharon and Andrew. They met at a school disco, fifteen years ago. It was love at first sight...

(And now the tune would kick in.)

But there was always some obstacle (Simon would lower his tone). Sharon's parents disapproved of Andrew, there was a fight, and the couple drifted apart. Only to meet again at university five years later and it was like no time at all had passed. They realised they were meant for each other and married the next year. Andrew said he thought his happiness would never end.

(But we always knew better, didn't we?)

That was, until the day that Sharon was chased down the street and TRAMPLED TO DEATH by a rogue elephant that had escaped from the zoo.

(I seem to recall Our Tune nearly always ended in death. But maybe that's just me.)

Anyway, the story would end that Andrew felt his heart would never mend, but hearing the song playing at that school disco that night always made him feel young and in love again. And then Simon would play that song, which was very nearly always "Endless Love" by Lionel Richie and Diana Ross.

"Our Song" was one of those things from the 80's that you sort of loved and hated at the same time. A bit like Going For Gold or the Nescafe advert couple who never shagged but you knew they wanted to really.

So I was listening to Macy Gray at work today and I realised that I Try is probably Our Tune. I do not know if Caro knows this. I remember she had the CD "Macy Gray On How Life Is" at her shared flat with the Stornaway girls, and so it always reminds me of going to visit her and feeling like we were up to no good.

And that was my Thought For The Day, but that is a different radio show.

S.